Castle Drabbles
by DFM
Summary: A bunch of stand alone drabbles.
1. Fear Motivation

**Title:** Fear Motivation

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Fear

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** Beckett had imagined kissing Castle under several different circumstances.

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100

Beckett had imagined kissing Castle under several different circumstances. However, fear had never occurred to her as a motive.

"Castle," she cried, rushing to where he had collapsed. Vaguely she heard Esposito chase after the gunmen, and Ryan call for back-up.

She ripped the 'Writer' vest, that had done nothing to stop the bullet, away, placing pressure on the wound.

His eyes started to drift shut, and out of desperation she did the only thing she could. She pressed her lips roughly to his until he began to respond.

Pulling back, she whispered against his lips, "Stay with me."


	2. Hello, my name is

**Title:** Hello, my name is...

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Red Herrings

**Character(s):** Castle, Beckett

**Summary:** "I've figured out who each of you are!"

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100

"Castle, what're you doing?"

"Just a second," he muttered, concentrating on writing something Beckett couldn't see. "Done!"

Then, to Beckett's horror, Castle stood up in the middle of the school gym and called together the 15 people they'd been interrogating.

"I've figured out who each of you are!" he declared, starting to pass out 'Hello, my name is...' badges.

To ten of the parents he handed them 'minor character'. "I'm sorry."

Next came 'protagonist', 'foil', and 'sidekick'.

He turned to their main suspect. The man sighed with relief. 'Red Herring'.

Turning to the last man. "This belongs to you."

'Antagonist'.


	3. I'm Sorry

**Title:** I'm Sorry

**Spoilers:** Deep In Death

**Rating:** PG

**Character(s):** Kate Beckett and Richard Castle

**Summary:** Beckett's thoughts during the last scene of _Deep In Death._

**Author's Note:** I couldn't help it! However, I did resist the urge to turn it into fluff, aren't you guys proud?

"And if we're not going to see each other again, then you deserve to know... that I am very, very sorry."

Beckett wanted to stay mad. She searched for that anger that she'd been holding onto since she'd told Castle to get out of her life. Why did she feel like she couldn't watch him walk away again?

_"I am very, very sorry."_

Was that enough? Could she let it be?

_"Well, not everything was a lie. Not her husband's love. I mean sometimes we do the wrong thing for the right reason."_

No, she couldn't think about that part tonight. She didn't want to think about any of it tonight, but...

_"I'm sorry."_

"Castle," she called after him. Which was worse? Giving him the chance to hurt her again... or watching him leave? "I'll see you tomorrow."

She didn't know if she could look any further than that, or even completely forgive him, but... she would see him tomorrow.


	4. Universal Revenge

**Title:** Universal Revenge

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Revenge

**Rating:** PG

**Characters:** Alexis and Rick Castle

**Summary:** The universe has a cruel sense of humor.

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100

It was the universe's cruel form of revenge that gave him a beautiful, trusting daughter, Castle decided as he held Alexis, tears streaming down her face.

"Why would he do that to me, dad?"

"I don't know, baby." Stroking her hair soothingly, he made hushing noises while her sobs turned to hiccups. "You want me to have Esposito go down there and scare him?"

That provoked a smile out of her. "Beckett is scarier."

"Well, I didn't think you wanted to scar the kid for life."

"He'd be getting off easy," her eyes flashed.

"Fair enough."

Yeah, she'd be fine.


	5. The Perfect Costume

**Title:** The Perfect Costume

**Prompt:** Halloween

**Spoilers:** None

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing(s):** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** "Oh, come on! It's perfect!"

**Author's Note:** Written for castle_fic

"Absolutely not," Beckett said, barely glancing at the costume Castle held up while she continued to look through the rack in front of her.

"Oh, come on! It's perfect!"

"We have discussed your definition of 'perfect' before," she paused, looking again at the outfit he was lobbying for, before adding, "several times."

Sulking, he placed it back, while she continued her search. "I can't believe you don't think I could pick something out."

"Our daughter's words when I dropped her off at school today were, 'Please, mommy, don't let daddy pick out my costume.'" Her eyes finally landed on the outfit that would make her daughter squeal with joy. "Ah-ha! I've got it."

Castle cringed at it, and Beckett finally took pity on him. "Come on, big guy, I'll let you pick out my costume."

His eyes lit up, and he pulled her over to another section of the store. She really hoped that she wouldn't regret this.


	6. Punctuation

**Title:** Punctuation

**Character(s):** Alexis and Rick Castle

**Rating:** G

**Summary:** Alexis is a little scared and Castle has to calm her down.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N: **Written for castle_fic's Changes Challenge.

A scream resounded throughout the Castle home. Rick Castle's heart pounded as he rushed in the direction of the noise.

"Alexis?" he called as he burst into his daughter's room. He spotted her immediately, standing over her bed, staring at something he couldn't see. She looked shaken, but unharmed. "God, sweetie, you almost gave me a heart attack. What's wrong?"

Alexis pointed at the bed, and Castle moved closer. What he saw almost caused his heart-rate to speed up again. He really thought he had a couple more years before this happened.

Gathering his 10-year-old daughter in his arms, he wished for the first time since before their divorce that Meredith was there. "Shh, it's okay."

"Dad, why am I bleeding?" she demanded in a near-hysterical voice.

Sitting her down on the bed, careful to avoid the bloodstain, he kneeled in front of her. "Remember when you asked me where babies come from?" he asked gently.

Alexis wrinkled her nose, not wanting to relive that particular conversation again. "Yeah." Her jaw suddenly dropped open. "I can't be pregnant! I didn't do any of that stuff you said!"

"No!" he hastened to reassure her, taking a deep breath, he tried not to pass out at his little girl even saying the word 'pregnant'. "No, you're not. But remember when we talked about how every month a woman's body gets rid of an egg if she's not having a baby?"

He saw his daughter search her memory, and the dawning realization. "Oh, my comma."

Castle tried really hard not to laugh. "Period, honey."


	7. Your Fault

**Title: **Your Fault

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Family

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** It was all Castle's fault.

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100. Thanks go to digitaldesigner who helped me come up with this one.

"Okay, I know you were a model, but this whole bingeing and purging thing has to stop," Rick said, leaning on the wall beside the bathroom door, through which he could still hear his wife losing her breakfast.

"Shut up," Kate answered, but her words didn't carry their usual forcefulness. "This is all your fault."

"How do you figure? Mother is the one who cooked."

There was a pause and then the door opened a crack. He peeked in and saw her sitting on the floor, looking pale.

"I'm pregnant, you idiot."

She closed the door in his surprised face.


	8. Nice Guys

**Title: **Nice Guys

**Character(s):** Rick Castle, Kate Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Castle is brooding after the events of _'Love Me Dead'_

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** _Love Me Dead_

**A/N: **This popped into my head after watching the ep and I had to write it...

* * *

"Oh, would you stop sulking!" Kate Beckett exclaimed, already sick of Castle's pouting. She briefly considered making him sit in the back seat again.

"She played me," Castle said simply, not even attempting to erase the pout from his face.

"Yes, she did," Beckett agreed, not feeling particularly generous. However, when his eyes got just a little bit sadder, she conceded, "Most guys would have fallen for it, though."

"That is so sexist."

Beckett pulled to a stop in front of the precinct and turned in her seat towards him. "Let me take a stab at what happened last night... Now granted, she had gotten someone to beat her up, so that does bump her up a little on the manipulative scale, but you would have been a goner either way.

"So, she was sitting on your doorstep when you got home. She looked up at you with sad eyes that just screamed 'save me, Rick'." Beckett added a little quiver to her voice for effect.

"Okay, that was kind of sexy."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't acknowledge his comment further than that. "It's not an uncommon trick. Most women, if they really want to, can pull it off but don't."

"Why?"

"Because the nice guys are the only one's who fall for it." With that, she got out of the car.

Castle quickly followed after her, all traces of melancholy gone and a smug smirk on his face. "You think I'm a nice guy?"

She shouldn't have said anything.


	9. Christmas Greetings

**Title:** Christmas Greetings

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Cards

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Characters:** Rick Castle and Kate Beckett

**Summary:** "Is that a Christmas Card?"

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100.

* * *

"Is that a Christmas Card?" Castle asked as he walked up to Beckett's desk.

Glancing at the front of the card, which had a picture of a snowman with a Santa hat on, Beckett grinned at him. "Your deductive skills are truly inspiring, Castle."

"Let me read it."

"No."

"Please?" he smiled charmingly.

"I'm impressed that you've added a new word to your vocabulary, but no."

He made a show of leaning over her, faking a grab for the card, but at the last minute snatched the forgotten envelope.

"Aw, she drew little hearts around your name, Aunt Katie."

"Castle!"


	10. Bring on the Rain

**Title: **Bring on the Rain

**Word Count: **592

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing(s):** Castle/Beckett

**Summary: **She loves the rain.

**Author's Note:** Merry Christmas, Aims! Written for the castle100's Holiday Drabble Exchange.

* * *

This wasn't beta read, so all mistakes are mine.

Kate stood by the window, watching as raindrops raced each other down the plate of glass. The streets were near deserted as everyone rushed for the closest cover they could find. She loves the rain. Loves how peaceful the city feels during and just after a downpour, but that wasn't the only reason... at least not anymore.

She remembers the look on Rick's face as water slipped down it, though he hadn't appeared to notice. The case had been too close for either of their comforts, their nerves frazzled. She had ordered him to get inside, out of the weather, but as always he didn't listen to her. He stepped close, cupping her face, and paused, just long enough for her to pull away. She hadn't wanted to.

The memory of that kiss still had the power to make her flush a year later. It hadn't been their first. That had taken place months before, when they'd gotten too drunk at the precinct's Christmas party, and had found themselves under the mistletoe. But where that kiss had been sloppy and giddy, this one had been intense, passionate, and with a slight tinge of desperation.

When she'd pulled away, she had stared into his eyes, tears mixing in with the rain drops still falling on her face. "How the hell did you trick me into falling in love with you?"

He'd laughed, pulling her into his arms, holding her tight for a moment before steering them both towards shelter from the elements. "It had to be done. Unrequited love was never my thing."

She wasn't surprised when arms slid around her waist, pulling her out of her reverie. She linked their left hands together, and took a moment to just stand their and examine the glint of light off the twin gold bands.

"You're not going to ask me for an annulment, are you?" Rick teased, breaking the silence.

"I'm pretty sure last night made an annulment impossible," she shot back. "I guess I'm stuck with you."

"I'll try and not make the life sentence too painful."

"Good. I'd hate to have to turn myself into a widow."

He faked a cringe of fear and tightened his arms around her, before turning her around, resting his head on top of hers. Listening to the soft music she'd put on when she came downstairs, he gently began to sway with her. She pulled back slightly and quirked an eyebrow but said nothing.

"What? We didn't get a reception after our lovely trip to the JoP. I want to dance with my wife." He waggled his eyebrows at her exaggeratedly. "Then we can go upstairs and do a different dance, Mrs. Castle."

"I'm not changing my last name," she said sternly, but let him pull her back to him.

"Why?"

"Two reasons. One, whenever someone said 'Castle' we'd both answer. It would be a damn Marx Brothers movie. And secondly, I cannot have a last name that starts with C."

His brow scrunched in confusion, and it was now his turn to stop their dance. "Why?"

Exasperated, she asked, "You know my middle name is Fiona, right?"

She knew the second he figured it out, because a wide grin spread across his face. "Well, you might as well change it now, because I'm calling you KFC for the rest of our lives."

She got some satisfaction out of his wince when she punched him a little harder than necessary in his arm. "Not if you want that life to be long."

"Whatever you say, chickie."

**The End**


	11. I Resolve

**Title: **I Resolve...

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Resolution

**Spoilers:** None.

**Rating:** PG

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Summary:** Castle and Beckett debate the importance of resolutions.

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100.

* * *

She didn't like making New Year's resolutions, it felt like setting yourself up for failure.

As always, Castle saw it differently. "It gives people a push to do something that they've wanted to do. What could be bad about that?"

"If it's important enough to you, you do it regardless of the date on the calendar."

He considered her before surprising her and taking her mouth in a breath-stealing kiss.

"I resolve to not wait a year to do that again."

Watching him walk away, the only thought in her head was, 'Maybe New Year's resolutions aren't so bad.'


	12. A Game Of Or

**Title:** A Game Of Or

**Characters:** Beckett, Castle, Esposito, and Ryan

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** "This is your stupid game."

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** Itty-bitty one for _Heat Wave_

**A/N:** I really don't know where this came from...

* * *

"You can't expect me to choose!" Castle protested loudly. "That's like asking whether you like Ryan or Esposito more!"

"Esposito," Beckett said immediately.

The mocking smile Ryan had been directing towards the author turned to one of hurt as he spun towards his boss. "Hey!"

"Sorry, bro," Esposito said with not one ounce of sympathy, "but the lady has good taste."

Beckett patted Ryan's arm in support. "He doesn't spit in his leftover Chinese food."

"I did that one time!"

Beckett turned back to Castle. "Don't think you've gotten out of answering. This is your stupid game."

"Fine," he answered with a slight pout. "What was the question again?"

"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Peppermint ice cream?"


	13. Two 'A Rose for Everafter' Drabbles

**Title:** Only One Got Away

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Ex

**Spoilers:** _Deep in Death_ and _A Rose for Everafter_

**Rating:** PG

**Character(s):** Rick Castle

**Summary:** Is it more important who you didn't follow or who you did?

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100.

* * *

_"You said you needed space."_

_"I didn't mean forever."_

How was he supposed to know that? He couldn't tell the line between 'I want you to follow me' and 'leave me the hell alone'. It was a much finer distinction than it really should be.

Beckett could attest to the fact that he didn't get the difference. She had said he should leave her alone and he'd offered to buy her a pony.

So why did he follow Beckett and not Kyra? Was it just that he couldn't stand having two women that got away? Or was it something else?

* * *

**Title:** Who's Extraordinary?

**Word Count:** 100

**Prompt:** Ex

**Spoilers:** _When the Bough Breaks_ and _A Rose for Everafter_

**Rating:** PG

**Character(s):** Kate Beckett

**Summary:** Beckett thinks about the book dedication in _Heat Wave_.

**Author's Note:** Written for castle100.

* * *

_To the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th._

She's thought about those words a lot since the party, about the conversation after she'd read the dedication.

But now all she could think about was the name Kyra Blaine.

Part of her knew that it was ridiculous. Castle had _told_ her that he meant the inscription for her. But had he only said that after she'd thanked him for it?

_"I meant it. You are extraordinary."_

She hated this case. She hated that she no longer felt secure in the one time she'd taken Castle at his word.


	14. Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like

**spyglass_ asked for a Castle/Beckett fic with 'caffeine' as her prompt. Enjoy!**

* * *

Castle had discovered the way into Beckett's good graces; he was sure of it! He'd known pretty much from the moment he'd met her that she was not your typical candy and flowers girl. Sure, she secretly liked both, but a gift of either would seem insincere to her. No, the way to Kate Beckett's heart was through coffee.

It actually should have been obvious to him much sooner. Every morning she came in with a Starbucks cup that he often suspected was not her first of the morning, even though she scoffed at Starbucks' very existence, and throughout the day she was constantly refilling on the crap the station referred to as coffee.

But no, what had clued him in was when Esposito came back from tracking down a lead and had brought back lattés for everyone. Beckett had accepted hers with a wide grin that Castle really wanted to be on the receiving end of. So now he had a foolproof plan.

Starting with...

"Is there a Rick Castle here?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Right here."

"Where do you want it, Boss?"

"Ahh! Straight through there," Castle pointed towards the break room.

"Castle?" his muse asked, unnecessarily worried.

He placed a hand on her back, guiding her towards where the deliveryman had disappeared to. "You are going to love this."

"No, I'm pretty sure I won't."

Of course she would, it was all part of the plan.


	15. The Detective and the Frog

**Title:** The Detective and the Frog

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett (implied UST)

**Characters:** Kate Beckett and Lanie Parish

**Rating:** PG

**Summary: **What better way to take your mind off of everything than to see a movie?

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle or The Princess and the Frog, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N:** I finally got to see The Princess and the Frog the other day and was attacked by this plot bunny!

* * *

"Why are we spending our day off seeing a cartoon?" Lanie asked as she picked up the large bucket of popcorn while Kate grabbed the two Cokes.

"Because it's as far away from murder and mayhem as we're likely to get, and Alexis said it was a good movie."

"We're going to see the Robert Downey Jr. movie next week."

"Oh gee, well I guess I do owe you," Kate teased her friend, who looked like she was about to start pouting as they took their seats. "Cheer up, Lanie, you might like it."

***

"Alright, so it was good," Lanie admitted as she and Kate left the theater.

"Yeah, I liked it."

"That's a shocker." She laughed at the detective's confused expression. "Oh, come on... The story is centered around a girl who is really good at her job, but works too hard." She almost mentioned the fact that the main character had lost one of her parents, but refrained. "And then a rich boy comes into her life who teaches her to have fun again, while she provides a grounding influence for him. That sound familiar at all?"

Kate got that uncomfortable look on her face that she always did when Lanie pushed her on her relationship with Castle. "I just thought the firefly was funny."

"Uh huh."


	16. We've Gotta Call Her Something

**Title:** We've Gotta Call Her Something

**Characters:** Kate Beckett and Rick Castle

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** "Did your parents watch a lot of Hepburn-Tracy movies?"

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N: **This was written for annaxbanana :)

* * *

"Did your parents watch a lot of Hepburn-Tracy movies?"

"Castle, I have _nicely_ requested you stop asking about this several times now. Next time, you get maced."

"I don't think you're really allowed to mace people because of a simple line of inquiry."

"Luckily you signed a waiver."

"..."

"Thank you."

"I just want to know where your name came from. It's for Nikki Heat!"

"Can't you just make something up? Aren't you supposed to be really good at that?"

"I'm extraordinarily good at making things up..."

"Bullshitting."

"... but I want it to be authentic."

"Castle... My parents flipped to a page in a baby name book and my mom said 'I like that one'. Okay?"

"..."

"I know..."

"Well, I can't use that at all..."

"I know! Which is why I wasn't going to tell you."

"I'm just going to go with my original idea."

"I'm almost afraid to ask..."

"Nikki got her name from an ancestor who disguised herself as a man so that she could fight for the north in the civil war."

"..."

"Awesome, right?"

"So, what? Nikki is the first stripper/cop to be let into the DAR?"

"No, because that's Daughter's of the _American Revolution_."

"..."

"What?"


	17. A Best Friend's Job

**Title: **A Best Friend's Job

**Characters:** Lanie Parish and Kate Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Lanie's perspective on the events of _Sucker Punch_.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** Sucker Punch

**A/N: **Written for castleland.

* * *

Lanie knew that she was good at her job. She was thorough and helped families get the answers they needed about how their loved ones had died. However, recently, she'd found herself wishing she wasn't quite so good.

She could still hear the crack in Beckett's voice. All she'd said was, _"Lanie,"_ but she'd heard what Beckett hadn't said... _"Please tell me this isn't true. Make this go away."_ She'd heard the same tone from so many victims' families, but it had never felt so much like a kick to the gut as it had at that moment. She had placed a hand on her friend's arm, a small consolation to the hug she'd really wanted to give her.

Predictably, Beckett had been furious with her. Lanie had expected that as soon as she'd called Dr. Murray, and she'd prepared herself to take the heat for not giving her a heads up.

So Lanie'd given her space.

At least she'd given her space until she'd heard about the shooting. No way was she going to let her wallow about that on her own.

When Beckett answered the door of her apartment Lanie could immediately tell she'd been crying, but hadn't commented. Instead she lifted up a grocery bag and asked, "Alcohol or chocolate?"

A startled laugh escaped her. "I have to choose?"

"That's my girl!"

They settled down on the couch to watch a movie that neither would admit to ever seeing if asked. They were both silent as they split a bottle of wine and a tub of _Brownie Batter _ice cream.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you in the middle of the station," Beckett said, as she swirled her spoon in the melted remains of her ice cream.

"I think you get a free pass on this one," Lanie conceded before continuing in a lighter tone, "but don't think I won't smack you around if you do it again."

Beckett smiled, and it was the first one that reached her eyes that night. "I'm pretty sure the boys would get a kick out of watching that fight." They giggled like school girls over the image of the boys, with drool on their chins, watching a 'cat fight'.

When they'd calmed down, Lanie leaned over and gave her friend the hug she'd resisted giving her days ago.

"Thanks, Lanie."

"No problem."


	18. Checking In

**Title:** Checking In

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Castle is expecting an important phone call.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N:** Written for castleland.

* * *

Beckett watched as Castle tried to hide the fact that he was checking his cell phone... again.

"Expecting a call, Castle?"

She quickly suppressed the smile that wanted to take over her face at his 'caught' expression. "What? No!"

"How many times have you called her today?"

"I haven't..." he trailed off at her raised eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I called a few times."

"Uh huh."

"Just to check in!"

"Castle..."

"It's my baby's first day of college," he mourned before turning a glare on his girlfriend. "Don't act like you're not worried, too. How many times have you called?"

Beckett immediately started to deny it when the phone that had not been more than 2 inches from Castle all day started to ring. Recognizing Alexis' ringtone, he snatched it up immediately. "Alexis!"

Standing up quickly, Beckett leaned in to try and hear both sides of the conversation.

"You guys do realize that NYU is still in the city, right?" Alexis' amused voice asked. "I'm going to be home for dinner."


	19. 10 Drabbles

**Theme: Sleep**

Beckett couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that she wasn't tired; she was exhausted after the long case that had just been wrapped up with an extensive chase of their suspect through the park. No, the reason for her wakefulness was laying besides her - sound asleep, the bastard.

She doubted that Castle was even aware that he'd caused her a restless night. She wasn't even sure he was completely awake when he said it.

Her eyes had been closed, and her breathing evening out, seconds away from falling asleep, when he'd whispered on a yawn, "Love you, Kate."

"Mmm," had been her only response, sure she'd slipped into a dream, until she'd felt the solid weight of his arms slide around her. It had taken all of her control not to let her spine go rigid and her shoulders tense.

The problem was she had no idea _why_ she was bothered. Sure, he'd never said it before, but it wasn't like she didn't know... just like he knew she loved him. He did know, right?

Turning over slowly, she tried not to jostle him too much. His eyes remained shut, his face calm. "Love you too, Rick."

"It's about time you said something. I've been pretending to sleep for half an hour."

* * *

**Theme: Victim**

The first time Castle truly saw Beckett with her guard down was the first he saw her speak to the family of a victim. He didn't hear most of the conversation, he was so caught up in the look on her face. It still amazes him how much of herself she gives to those families.

She tells them the truth, whether it's what they want to hear or not, because she knows more than anyone that it's the facts you don't have that haunt you. You can find ways to handle any piece of information, as long as you know that there's no unopened door lurking for you somewhere.

Each time he listens as she talks to them, promising them that she and her team will do everything in their power to make sure that their loved one has a voice. But he often wonders if any of them get what she's really giving them. Every word is carefully chosen, every ounce of strength and compassion she can pack into them given. He watches as she convinces them that, while this is the most awful moment of their lives, that they will survive it. She won't let them not.

He has no idea how she does it each time, but he knows, every time, that he's seeing all of her in that moment.

* * *

**Theme: Promise**

"I can't believe you!"

"Oh, come on... you've met me, you had to know there was absolutely no way I was going to keep that promise."

"Maybe I was hoping you could grow up for just one - "

"We pinky-swore, it wasn't a grown up kind of promise."

"That was your idea, Castle!"

"As was the fact that I had my fingers crossed behind my back... You can't scare me with that glare anymore, Beckett; I'm immune... Okay, maybe not. You're going to hurt me, aren't you?"

"You're lucky you've made it this long."

"I didn't think it was that big a deal!"

"For future reference, so that our relationship appears just the slightest bit healthy and you get to keep breathing, just assume that when I make you promise something, you should take it seriously."

"Duly noted."

"Good."

"I just really didn't think you'd have a problem with me going to see _Toy Story 3_ without you, since you had to work. I don't mind going again..."

"Castle..."

* * *

**Theme: Nightmare**

Dunn has Kate.

That was as much as his brain had allowed him to process since he'd entered their apartment and seen the man they'd thought had been locked away for life with a gun trained on his very pregnant wife.

Her eyes were trained on his, silently begging him not to do anything stupid, and promising they'd find a way out of this.

"What do you think, Jameson?" Dunn asked conversationally. "Do you think our Nikki would look better with a hole in the head," he placed the muzzle of the gun to Kate's temple before, with aching slowness, moving it to rest against the swell of her stomach, "or her belly?"

"You don't have to do this," Kate said, her voice not betraying any of her fear.

"No," Dunn agreed, "but I really want to."

The shocked look on her face was almost as loud as the shot that preceded it.

"Kate!"

Rick's breathing was still coming in gasps, his heart-rate much faster than was probably healthy, when he felt a cool hand brush aside hair that clung to his forehead.

"Hey..." Kate spoke softly, her voice scratchy from sleep. "I'm right here."

He turned, eyes still wild and confused. He looked down at her still flat stomach and placed a shaking hand over the spot where their baby was growing. There was no blood.

"What was it?" she asked, covering his hand with her own.

Rick shook his head. "It was just a nightmare."

* * *

**Theme: Candles**

"Put them back," Beckett insisted as she walked up behind Castle, finding him examining a pack of candles.

"Aw, come on, she'll love these!" Castle insisted, his eyes lighting up with childish glee.

"No one loves those on their birthday; they're for the other people at the party."

"But, Beckett, they relight!" He drew his finger across the word 'relight' on the packaging, as if she must not have understood the word or else she would be just as excited as he was about them.

"Castle..." she said in her best 'you don't have to jump off the ledge, you have other options' voice, "do you really think that torturing Alexis on her last birthday before she goes off to college is a wise decision? You want her to visit every once in awhile, right?"

He tossed the pack back towards the shelf with a speed that would make _hot potato_ players envious. "Let's go look at balloons!"

* * *

**Theme: Sick**

Beckett felt like her eyes were on fire, which she was sure was because she'd been staring at her paperwork for too long. And the reason her throat felt like it was made of sandpaper was because she needed to go get some water. Plus, the only reason her nose was so runny was because overnight the precinct had turned into a freezer.

She wasn't sick.

"I never thought I'd say this to you, Beckett, but you look terrible," Castle said, by way of a greeting as he walked towards her, a bag in hand.

"You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet, Castle," she returned, but the biting tone was somewhat lessened when she broke down into a coughing fit at the end.

Shaking his head, Castle began rummaging through the bag he was carrying, coming up with a container of soup. He placed it in front of her, followed by a spoon and a can of Sprite.

"Eat what you can, then I'm taking you home."

"I'm not sick."

"Of course not, I just want to see your new apartment."

* * *

**Theme: Wedding**

"Why won't you admit it's a date?" Castle asked, following Beckett into the break room. For some reason she felt like she needed another burst of caffeine.

"Because it's not a date," she answered simply. "I agreed to go with you to your mother's wedding."

"As my _date_."

"As your _plus one_." She took a sip of her coffee to cover the smile that wanted to creep out at the pout that took over his face. "I'm just going to make sure you don't steal all of the groomsmen's cummerbunds."

Castle groaned in protest. "Does she have to tell everyone that story? I was six!"

"A six-year-old who apparently had a very strong opinion about vests being much more stylish than cummerbunds. It sounds like you were always - "

"If you say metrosexual, I'm taking someone else as my date."

"I wasn't going to, but now..." She trailed off, offering him a teasing smile before leaning closer to him. "I don't go to weddings as first dates. It's a policy I've had since somewhere around my third time as a bridesmaid."

His chagrinned expression quickly turned to one of delight. "What if it's our second date?"

She pretended to consider his question. "Hmm... I guess that could work."

* * *

**Theme: Trust**

She fell in love with Castle long before she learned to trust him. It had scared her when she'd realized it, that she'd given so much power to him without knowing whether he would use it against her or not, even if it wasn't conscious.

Oh, she knew that he cared about her. From the big things he'd done, like paying to catch her mother's killer, to the smaller things, like bringing her coffee every morning, it was painfully obvious that he cared, even to those who were trying desperately to convince themselves otherwise.

It also wasn't that she thought he was incapable of being in a monogamous relationship. If anything, he was more likely to rush towards commitment too soon. Castle was more afraid of being alone than anyone she'd ever met.

No, what scared her was that in the same tone of voice, he could speak of a memory of Kyra Blaine or a girl he'd met on the subway... completely convinced as he's speaking that he was in love with the girl in question.

She didn't know how to deal with that. How did you trust a guy who was capable of both pining and falling for the first girl who can both smile and bat her eyelashes at the same time?

The answer she'd come up with was to see if he'd wait for you for a _really_ long time with, let's be honest, very little encouragement, and still show the same or greater interest than when he'd first met her. Okay, it wasn't a perfect test... but he'd passed it with flying colors.

You've got to give credit to a guy willing to do his time.

* * *

**Theme: Heartsick**

Beckett collapsed onto her bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep for the next week and a half... which was most likely the reason her phone picked exactly that moment to ring. Blindly she reached for the phone, moving her head only enough so that her voice wasn't completely muffled by her pillow. "I hate you."

"_Rocco's Modern Muse - World renowned chef Rocco DiSpirito was spotted at a gallery opening with Detective Kate Beckett. Has Richard Castle's muse moved on to inspire the culinary world?_"

"Castle?" She hadn't heard from the man since he'd left for the Hamptons a month and a half ago, and the first time he decides she's worth a phone call is to quote that stupid article at her?

"Didn't you sign some kind of exclusive contract that said you wouldn't go around inspiring anyone else?" Castle's voice sounded highly amused, but there was something underlying his words that she was just too tired to try and figure out.

"You mean that thing you wrote on a take-out napkin? You forged my signature when I refused to sign it."

"I'm pretty sure it's still legally binding."

Sighing loudly, she considered just hanging up on him, but she couldn't quite bring herself to hit 'end'. "Maddie introduced us. It was just a couple dates."

"What happened to - "

"We broke up," she cut him off. No way was she going to let him ask more questions about the events before Memorial Day weekend. "It just wasn't working out."

"I'm sorry." He almost sounded it, too.

"Yeah, well..."

"You going to go out with Rocco again?"

"Probably not... We've been really busy at the station recently; I don't really have time for dating right now."

There was a long pause between them, where she knew that 2-3 months ago would have been filled with a joke from him. "Right, well, I've got some writing to do. I better go... See you in the fall?"

Her eyes slipped shut, and she tried to push down the tears she thought she'd been past. "See you in the fall."

* * *

**Theme: Kiss**

The first time Castle kissed Beckett it had been meant as a joke. He'd been begging her to go to some of the book signings in the city with him, which she'd been adamant was not going to happen. Ever.

"Come on, Beckett! People want to meet Nikki Heat."

"She's a fictional character; they're not going to get that wish."

"You'd have fun."

"I'm sure I wouldn't."

And on, and on, and _on_, until Beckett was ready to throw him in a holding cell and forget to let him out.

"I'll leave you alone if you agree to come to one signing."

"Deal," she agreed before she could stop herself. Castle smiled widely, before leaning over and kissing her loudly in a cartoonish manner, complete with 'mwah' sound effects. It wasn't until he pulled back and saw her shocked expression that it actually registered what he'd done.

The second time Castle kissed Beckett was much more serious.


	20. Snow

**Title:** Snow

**A/N:** Apparently I used all of my angst up on NaNo... Enjoy the fluff ;)

* * *

Kate Beckett was freezing. She'd lived in New York her entire life and was more than used to the winters, but today she could not keep her teeth from chattering as she was dragged outside by her deranged boyfriend.

"Castle," she said as sternly as her shaking voice would allow, "what about me laying down with my eyes closed, breathing evenly, led you to believe that I was ready to wake up?"

"It's snowing," he answered, in that giddy voice that always made her realize yet again that he had yet to leave behind his Peter Pan complex.

"It has been for a week now."

"But you've been working."

"Some of us have to do that for a living."

"Which is unfortunate." Castle stopped and turned to her, his face almost serious. "Come on, Kate, don't you want to see the snow as something other than an inconvenience that covers up corpses and erases evidence?"

She studied him for a moment and knew exactly when he realized he won because a huge grin spread over his face. Shaking her head, she reached down and grabbed a clump of freshly fallen snow with her gloved hand. "You better run, Castle, because I have a much better throwing arm than you do."


	21. Thankful

**Title:** Thankful  
**A/N:** Okay, I wasn't going to post this but I was convinced by my beta to... Happy Belated-Thanksgiving!

* * *

Beckett draped a blanket over her father's sleeping form, which was stretched out on the couch. She paused for a minute, just observing how carefree he looked when he was sleeping. He had slipped into a post-Thanksgiving dinner coma, and she wasn't quite ready to wake him so he could move to the guest room.

Walking back towards the kitchen, she began putting away all the leftover food that would be eaten for lunch for the next week. She'd almost had it all put away when she heard the front door open. Glancing up, she brought a finger to her lips to warn Rick to remain quiet.

"No trouble getting Alexis back to her apartment?" she whispered when he was close enough. Castle grimaced slightly and Beckett didn't even bother to hold back a smile. He was still uncomfortable with the fact that his little girl had moved out of her college dorm to live with her boyfriend and another of her friends. He continued to pretend to believe that she had her own room.

"She passed out in the car, but Jake and I got her inside easily enough."

Beckett leaned towards him and brushed a kiss across his lips, a tiny bit as a reward for calling Jake by his name instead of 'the boy who was taking advantage of his daughter's pure nature', but mostly because, with all of the chaos a national holiday brought with it, she had had no time that day to spend any kind of time with her husband.

"No making out in the kitchen, Katie," her father's voice, which was scratchy from sleep, called out, causing the two to spring apart like teenagers. "Don't think I won't come up with a way to ground you."

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the couch, picked up a pillow and smacked her laughing father on the head. Noting that her husband was having a similar problem keeping a straight face, she lobbed it at him, which he just managed to dodge.

Beckett let out a huff of exasperation, but when she'd turned her back on them she let a smile grace her face. As cliché as it was... she was very thankful.


	22. Ding Dong

**A/N:** I have no idea where this came from, but hopefully you guys like it :)

* * *

"She sounds really mad," Alexis whispered, pressing her ear closer to the door, trying to make out more than just the raised volume of the voices in the other room. Next to her, her grandmother nodded in agreement, while the other occupants of the room looked somewhere between fascinated and uncomfortable.

The night had started out as a fun Christmas party, slightly over the top and with many alcoholic beverages, as was the Castle way, but as the crowd had thinned the atmosphere became a tad more charged. This was of course not helped when Beckett and Castle had found themselves trapped under the mistletoe, and had allowed Lanie and Martha to goad them into an embrace... one that Gina found extremely objectionable when she walked into the room.

At first both Castle and Beckett had tried to explain, but, after several attempted, "It's not what you -" and "You don't understand -", it quickly became apparent that Gina would not be stopped mid-rant.

Everyone had slowly began to back away from the bickering couple, Esposito latching onto Beckett's arm and dragging her away, until they were all basically trapped in Castle's office.

For a long time, all they could make out were words like _Nikki Heat_ or _cheating son-of-a-(something Alexis didn't catch because her grandmother covered her ears, but she could guess)_.

"This is worse than when they were married."

"Oh, I don't know, dear," Martha commented. "Your father isn't even putting up much of a fight."

"I should - " Beckett started.

"No!" everyone cried at once, immediately cutting her off.

"This is something they have to work out themselves, honey," Lanie added, with a comforting hand on her friend's arm.

"_FINE!" _Gina screamed._ "MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS!"_

The door slamming loudly was the last sound throughout the loft for a long moment.

"Does anyone else feel like we should wake up some munchkins and sing with them?" Ryan whispered to Esposito.


	23. Pretending

**Title:** Pretending

* * *

"Which do you think is harder? Pretending to love someone or pretending not to?" Ryan asked out of curiosity as they began to pack up the murder board. He took one last glance at the smiling face of the woman, who had become a victim of her own boyfriend's jealous rage, before putting the picture with the rest of the file.

"Pretending to love someone," Beckett said at the exact moment Castle answered with, "Pretending not to."

The two looked at each other, each arching an eyebrow in disbelief. Ryan had to smother a laugh at the thought that 'old married couples', which no matter who they dated was what they basically were, really did start to look alike.

"I've been married twice; trust me, it's easy to fake love."

"You've been _divorced_ twice; it can't be that easy."

"No, it is. Just, eventually, you get tired of pretending."

Beckett shook her head, fully turning towards Castle. Ryan briefly considered backing away, but figured since he didn't have the money for theater tickets right now, this was just as good.

"You can flirt with anyone, you can even fake attraction to some extent, but real, genuine love you can't fake."

"You can if the person doesn't know how you act when you feel more than just attraction. But 'real, genuine love' is harder to hide. Even if you can cover it up most of the time, it leaks out at some point. You treat the person differently whether it's conscious or not."

Ryan listened to them argue the point a little while longer, but found himself agreeing more and more with Castle. 'People' were really bad at hiding when they were in love.


	24. Dethroned

**Title: **Dethroned

**A/N: **Merry Christmas, Meg :)

* * *

Alexis tried to walk as quietly as possible. She didn't generally think of herself as a loud person, but it seemed that her every move was currently being broadcast in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. There was no way her dad wasn't going to hear her...

"Alexis?"

Her entire body froze on the spot and it was a good thing she sucked in a lungful of air because she stopped breathing after that. She could hear her dad's footsteps, but she was certain he'd yet to notice her.

Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she heard him pass. Now was her chance...

"Ha!" was her fierce battle cry as she sprung from her hiding place and threw her perfectly sculpted snowball right at his head. She took just enough time to take in her father's shocked expression before running for cover yet again.

"I will not be dethroned as the snowball fighting champion!" he warned before taking off after her.

"Your reign has come to an end, Father!"


	25. Two Drabbles

**For burningneed [Request: **They finally admit their feelings to each other.**]**

Kate Beckett considered herself pretty hard to surprise. Well, except when it came to Richard Castle... it seemed like every time she thought she'd gotten him completely figured out, he would throw something new at her. It was one of the few things she both liked and hated about him.

"I'm sorry. You what?" Auditory delusions, that had to be the only explanation.

Castle smiled widely, as if he'd just solved a case that had been giving them trouble. "I'm in love with you."

"I thought that was what you said." Coffee. She needed coffee.

She walked towards the break room, a confused Castle following in her wake. "Beckett, aren't you going to - ?"

"What, Castle? What do you expect me to do with that information?" With more force than necessary, she started making cappuccinos.

"Tell me you love me, too. Take out your gun and shoot me... preferably not in a fatal area."

"I'm not going to shoot you."

"Then..."

"Why did you have to tell me now? In the middle of the precinct?"

"I just - "

"I can't do anything about it here!"

Castle stared at her in shock, which she thought was only fair, before his boyish grin returned. "My mistake. I'll be sure to tell you again when we're some place a little more... intimate."

"See that you do." She handed him the second cup of coffee she'd made and headed back to the murder board.

* * *

**For x_nothing_here [Request: **Castle/Beckett get stuck in some sort of store Christmas Eve - no cell phone reception**]**

"How long are you going to stay mad at me?" Castle asked his very angry muse, while trying to keep any hint of whine out of his voice.

"Oh, gee, I don't know, Castle... How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Turning her back on him, she looked around the nearly deserted store, save for one poor employee who had been forced to work Christmas Eve. "_'Hey, Beckett, I'm just going to stop here and ask for directions.' 'What a great idea, Castle. I wish I'd thought of it. Wait, I did, two hours ago!'_"

"You know, I was there, right? You don't have to replay our entire conversation."

Spinning back around, and almost knocking over almost certainly over-priced knick-knacks, Beckett glared at him. "Which one of us left their shopping until the last minute?"

Pouting in a way that only someone truly in touch with their inner-child could, Castle grumbled, "Me."

"And which of us couldn't find a single present in _New York City_ that they thought their daughter would like?"

"Well, you don't have a - " He'd seen that 'just answer the question' face one too many times in interrogation to continue that line of thought. "Me."

"That's right. You're also the one that told me that for some reason you would not be able to accomplish this goal, one which you've been able to do on your own for the past _seventeen years_, without my help. You then drove us to an area with no cell phone reception, which was the very device you were using for directions to get to this supposed magical store. All of which, we may have been able to work around if you had decided not to be a walking male-cliché and had just pulled over to find out where the _hell_ we were!"

"So, this is my fault somehow?"

Beckett picked up a tacky cat figurine and was about to lob it at Castle's head when the employee cleared her throat. At first Castle was hoping for an ally, but clearly the young woman was also frustrated that the weather conditions had them all stranded and was willing to stick with the sisterhood on this. "Ma'am, there's some lovely clearance items by the counter that would probably be a less expensive way to exact your revenge."

Holding up his hands in surrender, Castle shook his head. "I really don't think we have to bring clay or crystal into this..."

Sighing in frustration, Beckett walked over to a pile of decorative pillows and pulled out one for each of them. "Just shut up for awhile, Castle."

##

She knew he was walking towards her, but didn't look up until he slid his coat around her shoulders. She almost shrugged it off, but the sad puppy eyes made her reconsider. "Thanks."

"No problem." He took her gentler tone to mean she no longer wanted to kill him so he cautiously sat next to her. "I wasn't looking for a present for Alexis," Castle finally admitted, fully prepared for her wrath to come back full-swing.

Instead she chuckled lightly. "I know." She watched in amusement as he tried to figure out how that could be true. "I'm a detective, Castle, and I know you very well. You've been trying to get me to do more Christmas stuff all month. You don't think I know that you're trying to distract me?"

"Well, not just distract you..."

"I know that, too. Why do you think I let you drag me along?"

She saw him lean forward slightly, but he still looked unsure. She decided to take pity on him; it was Christmas after all, and leaned into his side. Castle's arm immediately slid around her and Beckett's head landed comfortably on his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Beckett."

"Merry Christmas, Castle."


	26. Full Moon

**Title:** Full Moon

**Prompt:** Moonlight

**Rating:** PG

* * *

"Please tell me those aren't silver bullets." Beckett knew she would regret saying anything, much like every other time Castle did something exceptionally weird, but sometimes she just couldn't let these things pass.

"It's a full moon!" Castle protested, pointing at the glowing orb in the sky, as if that explained everything.

"And if, by some chance we happen on a werewolf... which is what I assume you're preparing for... you're going to what? Pelt him with them?"

Looking down at the fist full of bullets he'd been carrying around, Castle seemed to finally remember that he did not have an actual gun on him.

"Can I borrow your gun?"

She didn't even bother rolling her eyes as she walked away from him.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm going to be writing 100 drabbles for drabble365days... I don't know that I'll actually be writing them everyday, but I don't want to spam you guys if I do. So... do you want them as I write them or in bunches?


	27. Status Quo

**Title:** Status Quo

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett (UST)

**Prompt:** #2: If Only

**Rating:** PG

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** _A Deadly Game_ and _Countdown_

**A/N:** Written for my drabble365days claim

* * *

You watch as their arms wrap around each other and try not to feel like the world was falling down around you.

You had been so close. You were finally going to give voice to the ever suppressed desire that had been running through you and your partner's relationship. Just a few more seconds and you wouldn't have been able to take it back. You try and convince yourself that it's for the best... you may not be completely satisfied with the status quo, but it's certainly better than the worst case scenarios that have kept you silent this long.

And maybe tomorrow you'll believe that, but today you're sick of _what ifs_ and _if onlys_.


	28. Heartbroken

**Title:** Heartbroken

**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett

**Prompt:** #3: Losing You

**Rating:** PG

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None

**A/N:** Written for my drabble365days claim

* * *

Castle knew she wasn't sleeping. She was curled up in the center of their bed and clutching a pillow to her chest as if to muffle the sound of her heart shattering. Soundlessly, he slid in next to her, being careful not to actually touch her.

"He would have been perfect," she whispered after a long stretch of quiet.

He wanted to make a joke about him getting that from his dad, but knew that he wouldn't be able to force the words out and that even if he managed to, it probably wouldn't have the desired effect.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around her as they silently mourned the son they would never know.


	29. 20in20

**A/N: **Written for drabbles20in20 :)

* * *

**TEN THEMES **

* * *

**Theme:** Mirror

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers: **None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

He found her standing in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom, running her hands over her flat stomach. Stepping up behind her, he let his right hand join hers as his left pulled her closer. "It'll be a couple more months before there's a noticeable difference."

Beckett nodded, but didn't lift her eyes.

"It's kind of heady, isn't it? Knowing there's a person growing in there."

"I'm terrified," she confided.

"Me too."

She rolled her eyes. "You already raised one perfect child. What've you got to be nervous about?"

"This one could be like me."

"We're doomed."

* * *

**Theme:** Minor

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Lucky Stiff

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Beckett appreciated every grand gesture Castle made. When he would do something like start a scholarship in her mother's name, it would make her want him just a little bit more.

But they hadn't made her fall in love with him.

It was his attention to the minor, everyday things that made him essential to her. He made sure the team was stocked with food when they had a case, made her laugh when she was getting too serious, and could complete her thoughts with little to no prompting.

Even though she hadn't thought it was possible, he just fit.

* * *

**Theme:** Mimic

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers: **Nikki Heat

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Natalie Rhodes had officially gone too far.

The whole thing had started out as a a favor to the actress. And it had the added bonus of annoying Castle.

It hadn't bothered her when Natalie started noticing her tells, or examining why she wore three-inch heels. Well, she hadn't been overjoyed by her pointing them out, but after Castle's ride-alongs, Beckett didn't think anyone could examine her more closely.

Then she'd stolen her coffee, her outfit, her hair, and now she was going after _her writer_.

She needed to regroup, she needed a plan... she needed her caffeine!

* * *

**Theme:** Minute

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers: **None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

One minute. That would've been the only difference needed. If they had just taken longer to drink their coffee, or had skipped breakfast all together. If she hadn't misplaced her right shoe, or if he hadn't changed his mind on which tie to wear.

So many little things that, if they'd gone any other way, would've made it so they weren't sitting at that red light. When the other car had sped through the intersection, it wouldn't have been their car that had been hit.

One minute difference and Castle wouldn't be sitting by Beckett's bedside, hoping she'd wake up.

* * *

**Theme:** Middle

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers: **None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"We're in the middle of nowhere." Beckett noted as she stepped out of the car.

"Isn't it great?"

"This is why I don't let you drive."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I use it all up with my job."

"We both know that isn't true," he said playfully. "We're just going to follow that trail."

"Why are we out here again?"

"Fun."

She looked at him skeptically, but followed him down the path. "There aren't any bears out here are there?"

"Probably not, but you're armed, right?"

"I'm not going to shoot a bear!"

"How are you at playing dead?"

* * *

**Theme:** Horror

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Wrapped Up in Death

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Castle was dozing off when he heard the soft shuffle of feet outside his office. "Alexis?" he called, but received no answer. "Mother?" He was still a little jumpy from the events of the day. Not that he believed in curses...

The figure was masked by the low lighting, but when it stepped into the light he saw that it was covered in bandages from head to toe. Mummy.

His scream echoed through the apartment. It wasn't until he started running that he recognized the human, feminine laugh.

He would get Beckett back... once his heart rate settled a bit.

* * *

**Theme:** Humor

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"Oh my God... please tell me I'm not imagining this."

The glee in Castle's voice scared her, but she cautiously walked over to him only to find him flipping through a photo album she hadn't seen in years. "Where did you find that?"

"I think the more important question is 'are you wearing glitter eye shadow in this picture?'"

"It was a _very_ brief phase."

"I'll take that as a yes."

Shaking her head, Beckett sat next to him in defeat. "This is why I never should have introduced you to my dad."

"Here's one where you have blue hair!"

* * *

**Theme:** Hurt/comfort

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers: **Knockdown

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Beckett climbed into the back of the ambulance as Castle stared down at his tightly bandaged hand. "Hey there, Chuck Norris. How's the hand?"

He thought about playing it tough, but knew there was little chance of Beckett buying it. "Uh... excruciating."

She made a sympathetic noise and began rebandaging it for him. Her cool fingers against him and small smile did more than getting the feeling back into his digits did. They talked about Ryan and Esposito, but he couldn't process much more than that they were fine.

"Thank you... for having my back in there."

"Always," he promised.

* * *

**Theme:** Historical

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:**

**Warnings: **AU (Castle/Thin Man Crossover)

**Drabble:**

"You've got to take this case!" Rick Castle smiled at his wife, his fedora tipped down just enough to block out the glare of the sun as they walked their dog Asta down the busy street.

"There are a thousand detectives in New York; ones who _aren't_ retired." She argued back, not wanting to admit that she was curious about Wynant's sudden disappearance, but she'd quit investigating when she'd married Rick.

"I want to see you work. Everyone keeps saying you're the best."

"I'm much too busy."

"Doing what?"

"Making sure you keep all that money I married you for."

* * *

**Theme:** Heroic

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Countdown

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

_"I'm sorry,"_ Fallon's voice apologized over the speaker phone as the seconds remaining on the timer ticked by.

"Castle..." Beckett whispered, her voice betraying the disbelief and fear they were both feeling. She didn't... couldn't... say anything else, but as he took her hand, she knew that he understood.

He waited one second... two seconds more, just staring at her, knowing they wouldn't survive. With his last ounce of bravery, her hand still grasped in his, he quickly turned and grabbed a fistful of the wires attached to the bomb and yanked them out.

The timer stopped. They were alive.

* * *

**FIVE CATEGORY - FOOD **

* * *

**Theme:** #1

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Beckett had been staring at the murder board for so long that her eyes were starting to blur. She rubbed at them to try and clear them, but only managed to set off stars behind her eyelids. This is why a trained detective missed the object flying towards her head. The fry hit her temple before bouncing to the floor harmlessly.

She turned, ever so slowly, towards the perpetrator of the fry flinging. Castle did everything short of whistle to look innocent.

"Castle?"

"Yes?"

"I will give you a five second head start. You might want to start running now."

* * *

**Theme:** #2

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"Ow!" Castle's cry of pain carried through the loft apartment. With a speed that he would not have anticipated, Beckett appeared in the room with a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?"

"This milkshake is really cold!" he complained, holding up the glass filled with the treat in one hand and clutching his head with the other. "Brain freeze," he explained further when she just continued to stare at him.

Rolling her eyes she began to walk away. "Scream like that again when nothing is wrong, and I'll make sure you have a reason to cry out."

"Promise?"

* * *

**Theme:** #3

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"Dad, you can't add any more cumin to that!" were the first words Beckett heard when Martha let her into the loft. The other woman hugged her and confided that they'd been like that for the last hour.

"Castle, listen to your daughter," Beckett advised as she walked towards where they were bickering over a pot.

"Beckett!" Castle grinned. Alexis took advantage of his distraction and snatched the container of spice from him. "Hey!"

"Hi, Detective," she called as she started to run away with the confiscated item.

Leaning forward, Castle pecked Beckett on the cheek. "Be right back. Alexis!"

* * *

**Theme:** #4

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"Beckett, let's be reasonable about this," Castle begged, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Oh, I think that time has passed, don't you?" Her weapon never lowered as she advanced on him.

"I didn't mean for it to turn out like this." He glanced around, searching for an escape route.

"I think you just weren't planning on getting caught."

"I'm sor-" Beckett didn't give him a chance to finish before she aimed and fired. "Ah!" The whipped cream hit him between the eyes.

"That'll teach you." Without warning, he reach forward and nuzzled his face against hers. "Ah!"

"Lesson learned."

* * *

**Theme:** #5

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** None.

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"Is that an apple fritter?" Lanie asked, as she approached Beckett's desk.

"Yeah, you want it?"

Taking it, Lanie looked at her friend like she'd lost her mind. "Girl, you hate these."

"Josh got it for me."

"He doesn't know -"

"Apparently not."

Lanie stopped from commenting when Castle came sauntering in. "Good morning, Detective. You're in luck, the bear claws were fresh out of the oven when I..." He trailed off when he noticed the odd look Beckett was giving the pastry. "Did I miss something?"

Lanie smiled smugly. "I don't think you're the one who missed it, writer boy."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S CHOICE:**

* * *

**Theme:** #1

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Countdown

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

As she shivered in his arms, he tightened his grip around her, pulling her closer, trying to give her the little body heat he had left. He tried to apologize for getting her into this mess, but she wouldn't let him, whispering the three words that were second on the list of 'things he'd always wanted her to say'. "You were right."

She turned in his arms and the moment was so painfully intimate that he had to stop himself from lowering his mouth to hers.

"I just want you to know how much I l-"

"Kate? Stay with me."

* * *

**Theme:** #2

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** One Life to Lose

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

Beckett coughed miserably from her position on her couch. A bad flu had been going around and it'd decided not to pass her by. She'd tried to go to work anyway but you throw-up once in a trashcan and all of a sudden your partner is dragging you out of the building.

"Soup's on," Castle said too cheerfully.

"Thanks, Castle. You really didn't have to do this."

He shrugged while flipping on the TV and going to her recordings. When the opening notes of _Temptation Lane_ started playing, she decided he was now forgiven for making her go home.

* * *

**Theme:** #3

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Law & Murder

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

_"I was hiding under your porch because I love you."_

"Dug from _Up_!"

"Castle, it doesn't count as getting the trivia questions right when they've cycled around four times."

"I bet the mixed up title is _Sucker Punch_."

"No deal."

Both reached for a handful of popcorn, pretending not to notice when their hands bumped.

"I have a confession to make..."

"That you've already seen _Forbidden Planet_?" She stifled a laugh at his slack-jawed expression. "Castle, I'm a trained detective."

As the lights dimmed, he recovered and went to stretch his arm behind her.

"Don't even think about it."

* * *

**Theme:** #4

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** Slice of Death

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

"I want pizza."

Beckett looked away from the crime scene photos to stare at Castle incredulously. "You've got to be kidding."

"Doesn't a pie with everything on it sound amazing right about now?"

Maybe it did... a little... "Castle, we found a guy in a pizza oven! That doesn't call for a deep dish."

"Well, obviously we wouldn't order from any of the Nicks."

He looked so hopeful, but she kept hearing jokes about 'full-bodied flavor' and 'only half-baked' in her head, so she couldn't let herself cave. "No. Give it a week at least."

"You're no fun."

* * *

**Theme:** #5

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers:** The Dead Pool

**Warnings: **None.

**Drabble:**

She hadn't realized until she'd heard him say it how much she'd needed him to. "I want you all to myself."

They were both painfully aware that if you substituted Alex's name for Josh's the conversation would go the same way. However, Alex and work were a safer topic than Josh and love. No matter how much he wanted to say the words and she wanted to hear them, they just weren't ready. Not yet. They weren't ready for the risk involved, the potential of losing one another.

But until they were ready, she could make him a promise. "Always."

* * *

**A/N 2:** I haven't forgotten about _Emma_, I promise!


	30. What Now?

**Title:** What Now?

**Fandom/Character(s)/Pairing(s):** Castle - Castle/Beckett

**Genre: **Angst

**Rating: **PG

**Words: **166

**Challenge/Prompt:** Challenge 01: Beginnings

**Warnings: **None

* * *

Castle gently removed the glass of water from Beckett's loosening grip. She had finally drifted off, after hours of sitting next to him, staring off into space. She hadn't said anything since he'd guided her away from the scene. It was as if her throat had closed up after she'd forced out the words "you are under arrest for conspiracy in the murder of Johanna Beckett, Roy Montgomery..."

They'd finally solved her mother's case. Castle had been prepared for her to try and kill the man, for her to break down as soon as the handcuffs clicked. What he hadn't been prepared for was the shell-shocked, glazed over expression that hadn't left her face.

"Castle..."

"Hey," he whispered, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead, "I thought you were sleeping."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Sleep."

"Castle - " Her tone held a warning, but there was much less force behind it than usual.

"We'll figure out where to start tomorrow. For tonight... sleep."


End file.
